Too soon to celebrate the demise of ISIS

June 12, 2016 12:39

Don't rejoice over claims that ISIS is on the ropes. The dark, poisonous soil that has given birth to tens of thousands of extremists in Iraq and beyond hasn't lost its fertility.

Many years ago, back in the 1990s, when Saddam Hussein was still in control of Iraq, an official in the Ministry of Information and Culture would regularly summon me to his office for tea and a tirade. Sometimes it was about our coverage, but often he waxed angrily about the United States and Western policy toward Iraq.

"Someday, a new generation of Iraqis will come with a hatred you won't be able to imagine," he told me. "We older Iraqis still have positive memories of the West, but they will have only hate. Remember my words," he said.

The official, Udai Al-Ta'i, was an intelligent and sophisticated man, fluent in English and French, and had served in the Iraqi diplomatic service in Europe. He often spouted the regime line, but on this occasion his words seemed to come from deep inside.

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